***
Prologue- The Crash

It was a dark and snowy night in the middle of January. The month after Christmas was the worst time for a tragedy of this extent to occur, but so it was. It happened in London, England, at an intersection right by Buckingham Palace.

The Marcus family was going to get dinner in the family van. Two parents, with three children lined up in the back seat like pigeons on one of those electric lines that runs over the road. All were completely oblivious to the reality that was about to hit them.

Swerving around the corner came a shiny red truck, bought only that day. The light was red, but that didn't stop the man in the truck. He was young and was not paying attention to the other cars on the road.

The second oldest in the van, a boy named Robin, was sitting on the side of the van the red truck hit. He was thrown into his brother and sister, yanked across the seat with the seat belt rammed into his neck.

And there was blood. Oh, there was lots of blood. Blood from all five of the family members in the van and the reckless man in the truck. Cracks and dents were everywhere, on the people and the vehicles.

Sirens were heard all over the city. This accident would be seen all over the news, and people would talk about it for days.

The Marcus family would never get their dinner, and they would never be the same again.

***

Robin Marcus was rushed to a hospital. He had been the last one out of the rubble that had once been his family's van.

His sister was diagnosed as having a broken arm, which was immediately put into a cast. Robin's brother was treated for a broken leg and four fractured ribs. Their mother had been on Robin's side as well, but the truck had hit more towards the back of the van, causing her to suffer only a slight concussion. Their father had been the best off of them all, having only gotten a few minor cuts and bruises from the air bag.

When Robin's family shuffled into his hospital room to see what damage had been done to him, they found on the bed a white being shaped like a human, but otherwise bearing no resemblance to the young man they knew and loved. He had broken his back, and due to the spinal injury could not move. He also had a face with cuts and bruises everywhere from shattered windows.

Back to school went the sister and brother, and to work went their father. Their mother continued to stay home, for she had no job and wouldn't want one at this time anyway.

The sister, only nine at the time, suffered the most out of the entire family. She was the closest to Robin, and missed him greatly while he stayed at the hospital. She started showing extreme interest in all things out of the ordinary. She became withdrawn from her friends and teachers at school, and spent most of her free time telling stories to her crippled brother. Whether or not he understood she didn't know, all she cared about was that she was getting some time with him. Nobody knew what this meant, or why she was acting so unusual.

Something the night of the accident had sparked a gene in the girl's body. And what caused all of this strange behavior? Something was happening to the daughter and sister they all knew and loved. Something almost... magical.

***

Our story begins with a girl meeting her true self and her parents becoming her worst enemy; a youngest brother learning of jealousy and his father of love; with Robin learning of recovery and his family of strength through the toughest of times.

This is the story of a family with many a problem to overcome and many a lesson to learn. A story of coming together through the rough times and learning to stick with the ones they love the most. And the road to their success starts with a single piece of paper.

***

***
Chapter 1- Announcement

"Adelaide!"

The woman's voice projected through the entire house, trying to get through to her daughter's thoughts and convince her that school was more important than whatever fantasy she was dreaming up now. As a mother, Julie Marcus was talented with these things, but getting through to her daughter was becoming a stretch even for her these days.

Suddenly, feet could be heard pounding down the stairs. Apparently she had succeeded in grasping her young one's attention. The sound of footsteps ceased, and in the doorway stood a flustered, windswept girl, no older than eleven. She had dark brown hair and glasses framed her green eyes, giving her an intelligent look, positively enforced by the thoughtful expression on her face. Adelaide Marcus stood there, panting slightly from sprinting down the stairs.

"Honey, what has gotten into you?" Walking over to her daughter with a worried look on her face, Mrs. Marcus dried her hands on a towel, having just cut up an apple for breakfast. "I just wanted you to start getting ready for school, this is not the military!"

"You sounded scared or something," Adelaide said. "I can see that nothing's wrong, but it sounded like you had chopped your finger off."

Laughing quietly under her breath, the older woman went back to her work, motioning for her daughter's help. "You need to stop worrying so much. You're only eleven years old. I've never met an eleven year old girl as tense as you."

Adelaide did not find this very funny. After what had happened to their family, her mother, of all people, should have understood her stress.

"I'm going to get the mail."

Leaving her mother nodding appreciatively, Adelaide left the kitchen and started down the hall towards the front door, muttering under her breath about her mother's inconsiderate nature. As a mother, shouldn't she feel stress just as much as Adelaide, if not more?

Reaching the door, Adelaide unlocked it and walked down the path, feeling the warm summer air on her bare arms. If only she could truly enjoy the summer. Why does mother have to support year-round school? Adelaide thought. I could be out doing summer things if not for that daily torture.

At the end of the walk, the mailbox stood protectively over a circle of pansies, making for beautiful decoration. The mail inside had looked increasingly boring to Adelaide over the last few years- always bills, bills and more bills. If not for the accident, half of those bills wouldn't be necessary. And if not for the accident, her brother would be doing this; not her.

Yes, if not for the accident Robin would be outside with her. Instead, he was in the house, trying to recover from his injury. As the bills had grown increasingly boring, Robin's situation had grown steadily worse. Two years it had been. Two years since the Marcus family's world had been turned upside down and inside out.

The accident was the reason why so many things in Adelaide's life had taken a turn for the worst- not only in her family, but in her mind too. She had begun to imagine things from a different lifestyle and civilization, completely and utterly insane compared to that of her society. She had started believing in things like spells and hexes, and creatures such as centaurs and goblins. Before the accident, the fact that these things didn't exist had always seemed obvious. But now, the more she thought about it, the more Adelaide was convinced that the fact that they were not real was not as obvious as it had always seemed, but incomprehensible and strange. She even found herself wondering if it was the idea that such things did not exist that was fiction, rather than the things in her imagination.

Her parents had tried to talk sense into her, teach her that these fantasies were just the products of an overactive imagination. All of their pep talks and private sessions had had no avail, though, as Adelaide had refused to believe that her friends - as she had come to think of these extraordinary creatures and ideas - were wrong and imperfect.

As she flipped through the mail, Adelaide thought back to the night of the accident. She remembered the horror that had filled her mind as the truck had struck the side of her family's van. She remembered watching Robin as he had fallen and passed out, and the pain that had shot through her like a rocket when her arm had been rammed into a corner. She thought of the ride in the ambulance, covered in blood, wondering what would become of her and her family.

That night had been a horrible one for Adelaide, and she never wanted to go through anything with anywhere near as horrific an ending. Robin's health had slowly improved, at least, after those first few weeks, where his temperature had spiked and he had been dehydrated. That had been the scariest time of Adelaide's life, and she was very happy when he had finally started getting better.

Now, Robin was becoming worse every day, and the doctors had yet to understand completely what was going on. They never listened to a little girl like Adelaide, though, or she was sure she could help.

That was one thing that hadn't changed about her since the accident- her intellect. Her parents and teachers had always thought her to be bright, and she worked hard to keep things that way. Her youngest brother, Caleb, had always been good at sports. Often whenever he had games, she felt ignored. She needed something to be good at, too. That was where her innate intelligence came in. It made up for her clumsiness and inability to be athletic.

Between thinking about all these things, Adelaide kept sorting the mail. Something caught her eye, and brought her out of her daydream. It was a stamp on one of the letters, but not any ordinary stamp. Something almost... medieval. It looked as though it had been done by hand, and was thicker than a regular stamp. Looking more closely now, Adelaide realized it was wax; red wax, with words and a picture of what seemed to be a castle on it.

Squinting in the sunlight, Adelaide looked closer at her discovery. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was printed on the wax. What was this Hogwarts? Where had that name come from? It was an awfully strange name for a school. And 'School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'? What was that about? Was it true?

Pondering this thought, Adelaide sprinted back up the path and slammed the door behind her. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now. What if this 'school' was... No! That would be cruel, to play on her dreams like that! What if her parents wanted to send her to an insane asylum? They couldn't possibly think that she was that delusional just for being interested in magical creatures and ideas.

Hearing her daughter bounding through the halls, Mrs. Marcus looked up from her cutting board just in time to catch the letter that was thrown at her. "What's this, honey?"

"Why did we get a letter from a school?" Adelaide demanded. "Are you sending me away?"

Looking down at the envelope that had caused her daughter to sprint for the second time that day, Julie shook her head slowly. "I've never heard of any school of 'witchcraft and wizardry.'"

They heard a toilet flush upstairs; Adelaide's father was awake. As a prestigious lawyer, he was able to choose his own hours, and being the night owl he was, he had, as usual, decided not to go to work at the normal time. Slinking lazily down the stairs, he arrived in the kitchen moments later, just in time to witness the confusion of his wife and daughter.

"Howard," Adelaide's mother inquired, "Did you apply to any schools?"

"Me? No. Why?"

"Adelaide just got the mail, and was very upset to find that we have received a letter from a 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'"

The look on the man's face told the entire story. It seemed that neither of the adults in the room had any idea where the letter had come from. "Why don't we open it up and see what it says?"

Mr. Marcus walked around the island in the center of the room and opened a drawer. From it, he withdrew a butter knife and a pen. Seeing the confused looks on his family's faces, he said, "We don't want to damage it if it was accidentally sent to the wrong address."

He slid into a chair at the long dining table, and retrieved the letter from his wife. Adelaide plopped down in the seat next to him, and Mrs. Marcus gracefully sat down across from the pair of them. With nimble fingers, Howard sliced the wax neatly with the butter knife, and emptied the contents of the envelope in front of him.

The first thing they saw was a precisely folded piece of paper. Upon opening it, they found it covered in orderly slanted handwriting. Adelaide's father cleared his throat and began to read in a loud, clear voice.

"Dear Miss Marcus,

"We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

"Term begins on September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31.

"Yours Sincerely,
Zinnia Templesmith, Deputy Headmistress"

After he was done reading, Adelaide's father kept staring at the piece of paper before him. Finally, her mother cleared her throat and he looked up. "Is this some kind of joke you'd care to explain to us, Adelaide?" he asked, very seriously.

Adelaide locked eyes with her father and said quietly, "You think it's a joke?"

"Absolutely!" he answered, in a shocked tone of voice. "How could witchcraft and wizardry be taken seriously?"

Taken aback, Adelaide ducked her head. She had never seen her father acting with such hostility over something in the mail. Looking up again, she said, "I think it should be taken seriously."

Just then, the doorbell rang shrilly, breaking the tension in the room. Adelaide's mother got up to answer it, and Howard left the room to change into something presentable, mumbling under his breath. Adelaide heard him say, "Now, who would be here at this time of the morning... on a work day no less..."

Adelaide followed her mother to the door after a quick check of the kitchen to make sure that her mother hadn't left anything unattended on the stove. She had a tendency to forget things she was cooking, and Adelaide liked to check and make sure there was nothing being left to burn before she left the kitchen. Thankfully, there was nothing burning, left out, or otherwise causing mischief, and the girl was free to continue on her way to see what the matter was at the door.

Upon arriving at her mother's side, Adelaide saw that it was a woman who had rung their bell at this early hour. Oh, and a strange woman she was. It was difficult for Adelaide to tell the woman's age. She didn't look much older than Adelaide's mother, but dressed as if she was from a different era altogether.

Even though it was warm outside, she was wearing a thick blue wool cloak that must have been awfully warm. She had a pointed hat as well, so tall that it almost touched the ceiling as the woman stepped through the doorway into the hall. Adelaide gasped. The woman looked just like a picture of a witch that she had once seen in a book!

If Adelaide had had to guess at the woman's age, she would have said that she was about forty, but Adelaide highly doubted her judgment. She had never been good with guessing people's ages. She must have been staring, because when she glanced away quickly, her mother was giving her a look that seemed to say, stop staring - it's rude. Adelaide hurriedly averted her gaze to the potted perennials on the coffee table. She didn't want her mother to be upset with her.

"Hello, Mrs. Marcus."

The strange woman's tone was odd to Adelaide. It sounded as though she were speaking to a young child. "And this must be Adelaide."

"How do you know who we are?" Her mother sounded harsh and overprotective, scaring Adelaide a little bit. Her mother never spoke this rudely in front of people she thought to be important, and just the fact that she hadn't immediately sent this woman away showed that she thought this woman was. Adelaide knew her mother disapproved of unannounced visitors, and she allowed them to stay only when she thought it was something important.

"My dear," said the woman in the same tone of voice. She walked into the sitting room off the hall as if she owned the place and sat down on the sofa, tucking her cloak underneath her. "I have come to speak to you about your daughter. She is, if you will, special."

"Does this have anything to do with," Adelaide's mother's voice was softer than it had been previously, and she sounded frightened at the prospect of what she was about to say, "The letter?"

"Everything."

***

***
Chapter 2- Explanation

Adelaide and her mother shared shocked expressions as the strange woman's words registered. Witchcraft and wizardry were real? It couldn't be; Adelaide's father had said so himself. He was always right, wasn't he?

"Mrs. Marcus?" the woman asked. "Are you alright? You are looking quite pale."

It was true; Adelaide looked at her mother's face, and it was indeed very white. "Mum, do you feel okay?"

"Oh," Mrs. Marcus seemed to be coming out of a trance. "Why, yes, of course."

"Is this real, then?" Adelaide held out the letter to the woman. "It's not a joke?"

"No, dear, it isn't." The woman took the letter from her and held it up. She pointed to the signature. "I am Professor Templesmith. I teach Charms at Hogwarts."

"Charms?" Adelaide's mother asked, clearly doubting what this woman, Zinnia Templesmith, had just said.

"Yes, Charms," Professor Templesmith said. "They are a type of spell that causes an object to act differently, like a teacup eating a biscuit. I teach them to the children at Hogwarts. There is much more I must tell you about Hogwarts; why don't you sit down?"

Adelaide and her mother realized then that they were still standing; they each took a spot on a chair, and waited for Professor Templesmith to begin.

"Hogwarts is a school in Scotland," the professor began. "Only witches and wizards can see it. Muggles, what we call people with no magic, aren't able to see anything. Mrs. Marcus, you, your husband and sons are Muggles. Adelaide is the only one in your family that would be able to see Hogwarts, were you all to stand before it."

"Wait," Adelaide's mother interrupted. "Are you saying my daughter has been accepted to an invisible school?"

"I know it seems unusual to you," the professor said. "But many people are every year. Hogwarts isn't actually invisible, either. It is hidden from Muggle eyes for your own good. Hogwarts is a boarding school, and Adelaide will be able to come home for Christmas, Easter and summer holidays."

Adelaide and her mother nodded, wondering if all of this was fact or fiction. Was the so called 'professor' making all of this up?

"We will need to go to Diagon Alley today to pick up your supplies if you want to go to Hogwarts," the professor stated, ignoring the looks on her listeners' faces. "We're running somewhat behind this year; so many Muggleborns are starting Hogwarts this year."

"I don't know if we can trust you," Adelaide's mother said baldly, finally breaking the silence that had descended upon the room. "I've never heard of any of this before."

"We have a Statute of Secrecy," Professor Templesmith added. "No Muggle can know about our world unless it is absolutely necessary."

"I still don't know..." Adelaide's mother said, disappointing Adelaide a little. Adelaide would love to go to this school, and learn about magic.

Suddenly, Professor Templesmith pulled out something that looked like a thin wooden stick from her pocket. She waved it intricately and suddenly Adelaide's mother's hair turned orange. It stayed that way for a moment before going red, and onwards through the rainbow in that fashion. Adelaide gasped.

"What?" her mother's eyebrows shot up as she saw Adelaide's expression.

Adelaide pointed shakily at her mother's hair. Mrs. Marcus got up and walked swiftly into the bathroom. A scream filled the air, and Adelaide got up and ran after her. Her mother seemed to be hyperventilating, breathing heavily as though she had just run a marathon. "Change. Me. Back!"

Professor Templesmith arrived at their side, with her stick in her hand. "I think it is a rather nice look, Mrs. Marcus. Are you sure you don't wish to keep it?"

"Change me back!" Adelaide's mother screamed. She looked like she was on the verge of throwing something at the professor. Adelaide gave Professor Templesmith a dark look.

The professor waved her wand, and Adelaide's mother's hair returned to its normal dark brown. She breathed a sigh of relief. Adelaide wondered how her father had not heard this exchange, but upon paying closer attention, she realized the water was running upstairs- he was in the shower. They all shuffled out of the small bathroom and returned to the sitting room, settling into their previous positions. "Now do you believe me?" asked the professor.

Adelaide looked at her mother, hoping beyond hope that she would say yes. She jutted out her lower lip ever so slightly, praying that this would help convince her mother that this school was somewhere she really wanted to go.

Adelaide's mother saw her daughter's face, and replied quietly but confidently, "Yes."

Adelaide jumped out of her chair and threw her arms around her mother. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Professor Templesmith watched this exchange with a smile on her face. She had never seen a Muggleborn this excited to go to Hogwarts. This one certainly loved learning...

The professor waited for Adelaide to calm down, and then got up and walked over to them. "We need to start on your shopping now, dear," she said happily. "School starts on September first, and we need to make sure you are ready to go!"

Adelaide's mother quickly went into the kitchen to write a note to her husband, explaining where they had gone, and to grab her purse, and then she returned to the sitting room. Adelaide still had a look of utter excitement on her face, and she was glad to make her daughter feel that way.

Professor Templesmith explained awkwardly that Adelaide's mother would need to drive them into London, as she didn't know how to drive. This scared Adelaide and her mother a bit; what kind of adult didn't know how to drive?

"Oh, hardly any witches and wizards can drive," the professor explained. "I think no matter which professor had come to inform you, you would have ended up driving."

Adelaide and her mother shrugged it off and got into the car with Professor Templesmith. They were told how to drive to a place called The Leaky Cauldron, in the heart of London, for Adelaide's supplies. The professor explained to Adelaide and her mother that she would need to place a spell on this place so that Adelaide's mother could see it.

After about an hour of awkward silence in the car, they arrived at The Leaky Cauldron, a pub, surprising Adelaide, to say the least. Why would a pub sell school supplies? It looked like any ordinary pub, too, which was odd, since they were shopping for wizarding supplies.

"Oh, this isn't the actual place we're shopping at," Professor Templesmith added. "We just need to go around the back and through the wall."

Adelaide shared a glance with her mother. Through the wall? Impossible! But then again, she would be going to a magic school in less than a month...

They pulled up outside of the building and got out of the car. Adelaide and her mother followed Professor Templesmith inside the pub, and they realized - this was no ordinary pub.

There were people everywhere, dressed in odd clothes, just like the professor they were following. They had what Professor Templesmith called wands, and were waving them around and making furniture and other people do odd things like it was normal. The woman behind the bar looked very nice, and she was using her wand to clean glasses. "Hello, Professor! Would you like a butterbeer?"

"No, thank you, Hannah," Professor Templesmith said. Adelaide wondered what this 'butterbeer' was, but had no time to find out before she and her mother were ushered out the back door.

The back alley was fairly plain, with a few barrels and crates. There was an enormous brick wall, though, dominating the space. Adelaide gaped at it, wondering why it had to be so large. The professor took out her wand and tapped a few of the bricks. Suddenly the wall began to move, and a hole large enough for a very tall and wide person opened in the wall. Professor Templesmith stepped through without question, leaving Adelaide and her mother to walk through tentatively, wondering what they would find on the other side.

What they saw was absolutely wonderful. Adelaide had always dreamt of going to a place as extraordinary as this one. There were many different lopsided shops lining a cobbled street that went this way and that. Nothing seemed to be straight, and there were piles of merchandise outside of each store, looking as though they could fall over at any time.

Adelaide and her mother followed Professor Templesmith down the street, their heads turning every which way, trying to capture all the sights. They had never been anywhere like this before, and wanted to remember it all.

They stopped in front of an old looking wooden building, with a sign out front that informed them that this was Lovegood Wands: Since 2004. "This place is only five years old?" Adelaide asked, shocked that such a run-down building could be so new.

"Well, the building is much older," Professor Templesmith said as she pushed open the door. "Miss Lovegood has only been the wandmaker for five years. Not to worry, though; she learned from the best!"

They were stepping into the shop now, and Adelaide gasped when she saw row after row of small rectangular boxes, stacked taller than she thought it was possible to reach. She thought of how she would soon have a wand like the other witches and wizards she had seen, and she smiled at the thought.

Around the corner of one of the stacks came a young woman with bleach blond hair and a dreamy smile. "Hello," she said. "Do you need a wand?"

Adelaide nodded, awestruck by the place. The woman went back around the corner and a moment later, returned with a few of the boxes in her arms. "Here," she said, opening one of the boxes. "Try this."

She handed Adelaide the wand, and absolutely nothing happened. Adelaide looked up at the Professor Templesmith, a questioning look in her eyes. Was this supposed to happen?

"Oh, not that one, then," the woman said. She took the wand out of Adelaide's hand and placed it back in its box.

The young woman opened another box, and handed Adelaide the wand that was inside. Adelaide took it carefully, and was shocked to find that the wand was much warmer than the previous one. It felt more... magical. Shouldn't all wands feel like this? They are magic things, after all. She waited a moment, and purple and silver sparks shot out the end of the wand in her hand. She gasped, and looked at her mother. Mrs. Marcus looked just as shocked as Adelaide felt.

"That's the one, then!" the young woman looked very proud. "Olive and unicorn hair, ten and a half inches. Crumple-Horned Snorkacks like olive trees, you know..." She trailed off.

Adelaide looked over at her mother again, wondering if she had heard right. Unicorn hair? She thought unicorns weren't supposed to exist. Crumple-Horned Snorkacks? What in the world were those? "Congratulations, Adelaide!" Professor Templesmith seemed very happy.

The professor handed the young woman, who was now mumbling under her breath about 'Nargles', some coins that looked nothing like regular ones, and they left the shop, Adelaide's wand in her hand. She liked to swish it around and watch the beautiful sparks that came out the end.

Professor Templesmith ushered them into a bookstore next, called Flourish and Blotts. Adelaide had always loved bookstores, and this was no exception. It smelled like books, and very old ones at that. It was one of Adelaide's favorite smells, and she sucked it in gratefully while looking around at all the books. These were no ordinary books, she noticed. The books had pictures on the cover that moved, and they books were authored by people with unusual names like Bathilda Bagshot and Adalbert Waffling. She saw a book called A History of Magic, and one called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

She was interrupted by Professor Templesmith coming up behind her. "Oh yes, you will be needing those."

Adelaide picked up the books she had been looking at and followed the professor, who was heading over to a display entitled The Standard Book of Spells. Her mother followed her, offering to take some of the books she was holding. Adelaide happily obliged - these books were very heavy and bulky.

Professor Templesmith picked up the very last copy of a book called The Standard Book of Spells: Grade One. She informed an official-looking woman nearby that the display needed to be re-filled, and returned to Adelaide and her mother. They got a few more books, and paid with more of the strange coins. The three left the shop laden with a bag that Adelaide couldn't wait to dig into when she got home.

"Next we need to get your robes," Professor Templesmith said. "You will need three sets, as well as gloves, a hat, and a cloak."

They walked into a shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, and Adelaide was immediately greeted by an old woman with a tape measure around her neck. "Hello dear," she said warmly. "Do you need Hogwarts robes?"

Adelaide nodded, and the woman told her to wait while she went to get some robes. "Here, try these on."

Adelaide pulled the robes over her shoulders. They were surprising comfortable, and kept her very warm in the cold shop. They were extremely long, though. She wondered if the woman had factored in her height at all before choosing this set.

"Oh my goodness!" The woman said. "I'll make those fit better."

She leaned over and picked up the trail of fabric behind Adelaide. She then used a pen to mark off where the robes should end in order to fit Adelaide better. The woman lifted the robes off of her and left for a moment, before returning and giving Adelaide a new set of robes.

Adelaide pulled on these robes, and found them much better fit for her.

"Okay," the woman said. "These are perfect! You need three sets, correct?"

"Yes," Adelaide said, taking off the robes. "Thank you."

"Oh, it's nothing, dear." The woman walked over to a register and rang up the robes, as well as a pair of gloves, a hat, and a cloak of the same size. "Here you are. Have a wonderful day!"

Professor Templesmith led Adelaide and her mother out of the shop. "There's only one thing left," she said, a smile spreading across her face. "Would you like to look at the animals?"

Adelaide turned to her mother, who nodded. "Yes, please."

The professor led them to a building that was, if possible, even more lopsided than the rest of the street. Hoots and meows came from inside, and as soon as Adelaide opened the door, she gasped. There were owls of every shape and color, as well as cats, some large, some very small. There were a few close to the door that looked like very young kittens. They were the most adorable thing Adelaide had ever seen.

Her mother seemed to be deep in thought, and shocked Adelaide in saying, "Would you like a kitten?"

Adelaide, shocked speechless, nodded her head, and knelt down to stroke the littlest one there. It had very light fur, almost white, and its eyes weren't even open yet. It snuggled against her hand, and Adelaide knew this was her kitten. She picked it up gently, and it mewed in her direction.

Adelaide, her mother, and the professor walked up to the front of the store, and Professor Templesmith lent Adelaide's mother some of the strange coins to pay for her kitten.

When they left the shop, each of them was laden with multiple boxes. Adelaide had never had this amount of supplies before. Hogwarts must be a very educational place to require all of this. Adelaide was very excited, and couldn't wait for September first.

They stopped right before they got to the brick wall. "Here you are," Professor Templesmith said, setting down her boxes and pulling out a small piece of paper. "Your ticket for the Hogwarts Express. This train will take you from King's Cross station to Hogwarts on the first of September."

Adelaide took the ticket and looked at it. "Platform nine and three quarters?" she asked, confused. "There isn't one of those."

"Oh, yes," the professor said. "I almost forgot! Thank you for asking, dear. To get on platform nine and three quarters, you will have to find the wall between platforms nine and ten, and run at it. You will go right through it, and you will have to hold your mother's hand to help her get through. There will be prefects on the other side to help you from there.

"Oh, I need to be going now," she continued, looking at her watch worriedly. "I need to get to school. I will see you on the first, Miss Marcus."

With that, the professor turned on the spot and disappeared, leaving Adelaide and her mother to carry their boxes out to their car. Adelaide was beaming, and wondering how she would possibly make it to September first. It seemed so long away.

***

Luckily for Adelaide, the time went much faster than she had anticipated, and before long, it was the big day.

September first.

***